ChoicePoint: The Private Cost of Security is Security of Privacy

Allow me to be a mite hyperbolic in saying that you are being watched. Especialy if you happen to be a reader (and registered voter) who resides in the United States. Most recently, if you're a Mexican resident who voted in the recent federal election. You're minute celebrity status, however, is unfortunately limited to ChoicePoint International's database and anyone with enough scratch and desire to purchase your tax, voting, insurance claims, consumer, employment, police or credit records. ChoicePoint, out of Alpharetta, Georgia operates as a data-collection service, a kind of Wal-Mart of private investigator firms. They collect data on anyone and everyone while putting forth the assumption that it will be used to help large businesses protect themselves from fraudulent, potential employees who might be trying to infiltrate their ranks. But when ChoicePoint isn't protecting us from the big, bad 007 corporate spy network that seeks to steal the secret formula to Vanilla Coke they're busy selling your personal information to the highest bidder. Usualy to the government during election time, but sometimes to identity thieves, as evidenced by their most recent major fuck-up. You see, legaly your government can't collect information on you without warrant, but there is nothing stopping them from setting up multi-million dollar contracts with ChoicePoint and buying your voting records so that they know who to purge. Recently, for instance, several ChoicePoint data collection experts were arrested in Mexico collecting voting records for the FBI. Why would the FBI want Mexican voting records? Pay close attention to the accusations put forth by "should be" Mexican President Obrador in the coming weeks and the answer should materialise clear as day. Hundreds of thousands of votes, mainly in the South of Mexico, primarily cast by Liberal leaning, impoverished voters mysteriously dissapeared into "flawed" vote casting machines, never to be recovered. Sound reminiscent of an incident in Florida in 2000? That's because it is. Furthermore, the U.S. government, under the guise of "terrorism protection" is currently contracting ChoicePoint to collect data not from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan (known for creating terrorists), but from Argentina, Venezuela and other South American countries. Logic would suggest that this has a lot more to do with the recent controversy surrounding the FTAA agreement and Hugo Chavez' attempt at uniting Latin nations against the threat of unfair trade regulations that favor the U.S. than it does with preventing terrorism.

For more information on ChoicePoint you can visit http://www.epic.org/privacy/choicepoint/ or ChoicePoint's official website at http://www.choicepoint.com

For more on the theft of the Mexican election you can visit BBC journalist, Greg Palast's site at http://www.gregpalast.com